Andy Puzder, former CKE Restaurants CEO, told CNBC on Tuesday he’s used to being attacked for conservative economic positions, but he’s seen nothing like the vitriol he experienced from the media as President Donald Trump‘s first Labor secretary nominee.

After several delays of his confirmation hearing — in part over financial disclosure and ethics paperwork — and not enough GOP support, Puzder bowed out on Feb. 15.

Puzder said he couldn’t even tweet during the vetting — adding he would have liked to defend himself against accusations that were being circulated at the time, including alleged wage violations at CKE locations and decades-old abuse allegations from his ex-wife.

“It was tough. When I became the focus of the efforts to try and wipe somebody out, it became very intense,” he said on “Squawk Box.” “It’s hard if you can’t go on and defend yourself.”